


Secret Sparks

by KineticSynergy



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 17:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KineticSynergy/pseuds/KineticSynergy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life aboard the <i>Halcyon </i> has always been interesting. When Hot Rod brings Arcee aboard all seemed well. What happens when their relationship falls apart and how will it affect the crew?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Sparks

**Author's Note:**

> Units of time
> 
> nanoklik=1 second // klik=1.2minutes // breem=8.3 minutes // Joor=roughly an hour // Orn=a day // Deca-cycles= three weeks // Solar cycle=one year // vorn=83 years.
> 
> A big thanks to [pl2363](http://archiveofourown.org/users/pl2363/pseuds/pl2363) for the beta <3

**Chapter 1: The world falls apart**

 

_Kup’s Log:_

_Watching over Hot Rod over these last solar cycles has reminded me that we were one a lot alike once upon a time. Brash, eager, hot headed, even stupid, ah but we all have to learn somehow. The one thing that seems to set us apart is that fickle spark of his, easy to please for a time, yet hard to tame. The kid changes partners as often as he waxes it seems some orns. I should have been concerned when he brought Arcee back to the ship with him, should have been even more concerned with him askin’ for her to be made part of the crew. She’s such a pretty thing, smart, good with a blaster, hard to say no to. Hot Rod swore to me that he had ‘found the one’. How many times have I heard that before? Primus help this old fool._

_-End Log-_

 

Tension had grown between Hot Rod and Arcee over the past deca-cycle, and most of the crew felt it. Consequently tried to stay out of the blast radius of whatever was building. The _Halcyon_ was still several deca-cycles from Earth and most of the crew wished for the situation concerning the pair to come to some form of closure. Preferably one that did not mean pitting the crew against one another over something that was errantly foolish. Needless to say the orn the tension dissipated without incident unnerved half of the crew while putting the other half at ease.

 

The rec-room aboard the Halcyon was strangely vacant save Arcee, which the elder mech found curled up on one of the couches. Coolant stained one of its arms and was smeared across her lovely face. Maybe that was the reason that no one was around. None of the crew liked to her cry, yet in retrospect there were too many that wished to try to help ‘fix’ what might be ailing her as well.

 

“What’s the matter Lass?” Kup asked as he sat down slowly next to Arcee.

 

“Oh…Kup…” Arcee said, her voice contained a hint of static as she quickly wiped her optics. “I didn’t hear you come in…”

 

The old veteran smiled softly and placed a hand gently on her shoulder as he pulled a cloth from his subspace compartment. He spoke as he held it out to her, “Here, dry your tears and tell me all about what’s going on.”

 

“Thank you,” Arcee replied, falling silent for a few kliks to dry her tears. “It…It’s Hot Rod.”

 

A soft hiss of a sigh fell from Kup’s intakes as he shook his head slowly. He had known better than to listen to Hot Rod’s professions of love. He sincerely hoped that this time it has been different, but it still ended the same with spark break. Part of him would love to beat the boy senseless, but it would not do any good. Arcee deserved better than Hot Rod as far as this old soldier was concerned at this point in time.

 

“I’m sorry Arcee,” Kup said after a klik. “He’s a good lad, a stupid aft half the time, but a good lad.”

“I just wish I knew what I did wrong,” Arcee replied softly, coolant welled on her optics again. “I know our relationship hasn’t been the best lately but there has to be something that we could have done…could have worked out…”

 

“It wasn’t you lass,” Kup replied as he reached over and lifted her chin gently, a bit of a sad smile on his weathered features. “Hot Rod is fickle, more than likely he’s afraid of how to keep and handle a good thing.”

 

   *     *     *

 

“I can’t believe you dumped Arcee,” Springer said almost callously as he walked the corridors with Hot Rod. He had to admit he was a bit furious with the mech he considered to be a younger brother, a stupid aft brother but a brother nonetheless. Though the triple changer did note that red mech seemed to be handling this breakup differently than those of the past.

 

“It just wasn’t … going to work out,” Hot Rod said, venting a sigh, his shoulders stooped.

 

“How do you know that?” Springer countered, “Did you EVEN try to work things out?”

 

“All we did fight, how is that supposed to work itself out?” Hot Rod half snapped back. He really was not in the mood for a lecture from Springer. He was actually surprised he had not heard about it from Kup yet. “Right now I just want to get a drink and try to forget about it for a while.”

 

“Fine, have it your way,” Springer replied with a half snort. He knew there would be no way to get anywhere with the stubborn aft at the moment.

 

The pair fell into an awkward silence both partially lost in their own thoughts. Hot Rod walked with his head slightly bowed as if not wishing to see the world around him and his pace slowed until he fell into step just behind his friend. Springer was the first to catch sight of Arcee and Kup talking on the couch in the rec room and he put on the brakes which caused Hot Rod to nearly run into him. The triple changer quickly turned and wrapped one large arm around the red mech’s shoulders, pivoting the smaller frame away from the doorway into their destination.

 

“On second thought, we should head back to my quarters. I think I have a stash of high grade we can break into,” Springer said all of a sudden.

 

“What the frag Springer?” Hot Rod yelped in surprise as he looked up at the larger mech. “Trying to dent my armor or what?” There was a slight pause as he considered Springer’s offer. “Yeah sure.”

 

 *     *     *

 

Kup glanced over his shoulder a moment when he thought he heard something only to catch the retreating backplates of Hot Rod and Springer. _Good the lad has someone to talk to,_ Kup thought. The triple change might not be the best of influences at times but he could trust Springer to handle things with the fiery red mech. The old mech shifted some so he could keep and optic on the door as he talked with Arcee.

 

“Has he always been like this Kup?” Arcee asked, rubing the cloth with her fingers. “Hot Rod I mean.”

 

“Like what Lass?” Kup inquired.

 

“Hopelessly devoted then...” the words caught in her throat as gears seized momentarily, “then distant…? Are we even going to be able to work together anymore?”

 

“Why don’t we continue this conversation in my office,” Kup said after a breem. He just could not stand seeing the crew fidget at the rec room door any longer. He was about ready to chuck a chair at Blurr if he saw the racer buzz by the door one more time. Besides, their conversation was best kept behind closed doors.

 

“Okay,” Arcee quietly said. She watched the veteran stand and took hold of his offered hand.

 

“It’s alright, Arcee,” Kup said, directing the distraught pink mech from the rec room with a gentle one-armed hug about her shoulders. She rested her head against Kup’s dark teal shoulder guard as they walked along, her optics dim.

 

 *     *     *

 

The shots of high grade and the joors blurred together as Hot Rod drown his misery in Springer’s quarters. The bright green mech was not sure how much more he could take between the high grade and Hot Rod’s cheeky, overcharged passes. _Primus please pass out Roddy_ , Springer thought through the haze. He knew that the red mech’s advances were due to the high grade and his recent break up so Springer was doing his best to ignore them.

 

“I think we should get you to the berth,” Springer said, as he pushing himself a bit unsteadily to his peds. He was not quite as blitzed as Hot Rod but he definitely had a nice euphoric overcharge going on.

 

“I thought you’d never ask!” Hot Rod replied half slurred through a fit of…was that giggling? Pushing himself to his feet, the red mech swayed and would have crumpled to the floor had Springer not been there to catch him. “My hero!”

 

“I think you’ve had enough,” Springer replied a bit drily, shaking his head, He rested one of Hot Rod’s arms around his shoulder to try and stabilize the swaying mech. Primus what had he gotten himself into? Sure he had seen Hot Rod overcharged before but never quite like this.

 

“Have I?” Hot Rod asked innocently.

 

Springer sighed softly as the two of them somehow managed to make it across the room and into the berth room in one piece. Springer found that turning on a light was more of a challenge with Hot Rod hanging on him and teasingly wandering hand sliding over his armor. The red mech hummed along happily with his teasing touches when he thought Springer was not paying attention.

 

“Here you go,” Springer said as he helped Hot Rod onto his large berth carefully enough to not allow the red mech to pull him onto that smooth inviting surface. “You need to recharge.”

 

“Says whooo?” Hot Rod replied in a sing song fashion as his optics dimmed, He grabbed hold of one of the triple changer’s arms. “Com’on Springer stay with me.”

 

“I’ll be right back,” Springer replied, extracting himself from the red mech’s grasp.

 

“Oh Kay,” Hot Rod replied with a bright smile.

 

Springer turned and made his way slowly across the room. He was half way there when he heard a light clank and paused to look over his shoulder. There on the berth laid Hot Rod’s disheveled offline form. The triple changer vented a soft sigh half in relief as he exited the room and collapsed on the couch. If he had any regrets about that evening they would have to wait till morning.

 

*     *     *

 

The joors passed and Kup was thankful that no one had interrupted his conversation with Arcee in his office. He felt sorry for her and the situation that she was in. She had a lot of concerns about how best to deal with this estrangement by Hot Rod and how it was going to affect not just the two of them but the rest of the crew. The last thing that she wanted was to cause a rift between all of their friends due to their break up. She just did not really see a way to keep that from happening though. At the moment she was unsure where she and Hot Rod stood. Would they be able to work out their differences? Would they remain friends? Would they go their separate ways?

 

Kup watched as Arcee’s optics began to dim, between the late joor and the emotional stress he knew it would not belong before she would drop offline. He vented a quiet sigh before he spoke gently as he pushed himself to his peds Primus he was stiff, “Come on lass, let’s get you back to your quarters, you need recharge.”

 

Arcee nodded and stood up, wiping her optics with the cloth that Kup had given her in the rec room. She cried so much in the past few joors that she was beginning to wonder if she had any more coolant at the moment to spill. She was so thankful for Kup’s presence. For the first time she truly thought that Hot Rod might have been wrong about the old soldier being a rambling old relic and maybe just maybe others should actually listen to what he has to say. She also found that he was a good listener; he was not one to interrupt as she spoke unless it warranted. She never felt like he was treating her as a sparkling, which was one trait that Hot Rod complained about most concerning Kup. Maybe it was because half of the time Hot Rod _needed_ to be treated like a sparkling to get it through his thick processor that he was doing something foolish.

 

Kup picked up a couple of datapads off his desk and subspaced them before he lead Arcee out of his office and they headed back towards the crew quarters. They walked along in a comfortable silence for a short while.

 

“Kup…” Arcee said, a bit tentatively.

 

“Yes?” Kup replied looking over at her with a raised optic ridge, noticing her fidget with the cloth in her hands.

 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Arcee asked uneasily. “I know it’s…awkward to ask…but…”

 

“You’re too used to being around Hot Rod.” Kup spoke knowingly.

 

Arcee nodded lightly, almost sheepishly, “I haven’t stayed in my own quarters since the first few orns I was on the ship… and I don’t really want to be alone tonight.”

 

“Alright, lass, alright,” Kup replied. “You can stay for the night.”

 

“Thank you,” Arcee replied with a look of relief as she followed Kup back to his quarters.

 


End file.
